Dark Signers: Carly's Story
by Ixae
Summary: Carly is just an average reporter. That is, until she ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time and gets blasted out of a window and falls to her death. She becomes a Dark Signer and struggles to accept this. But is it really her destiny? Carly/Jack
1. Prologue: Transformation

**Here is my Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's story. This will be Carly's version, therefore it will all be in her POV. This is one of seven planned stories about each of the Dark Signers, so after this story is finished you can expect more from me. This story, and the other Dark Signers stories as well, will include parts from the anime as well as my own made up parts for everything in between. I apologize if my writing of the anime isn't all that great, but I tried to make it a bit original while still sticking to most of the events of the anime. Now, enjoy the story and if you have any constructive criticism I would love to hear it!**

**Almost forgot the disclaimer! Oops! I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's.**

* * *

Prologue

_Transformation_

I heard the glass I was pinned against shatter, and suddenly I was falling...I screamed, but I knew no one would hear me. They wouldn't know what had happened. They wouldn't know I just duelled Sayer, the head of the Arcadia Movement, and lost. They wouldn't know I was sent plummeting through the window by his last attack. They wouldn't know I was about to die.

_How could this have happened?! If only I hadn't been so intent on getting that story, I wouldn't be falling to my death!_

I would have cried if I hadn't been so scared. Memories began flashing before my eyes, from my early childhood when I dreamed of becoming a reporter to the present when I struggled to keep my job. The last of my memories showed my time with Jack only yesterday. There was a lot more of him that I would have expected.

Misty's words suddenly rang out in my ears. _"Your eyes...They're showing me the path you will take. It is a path that will disappear into a darkness, Carly...But, when you choose to take this path, you will know yourself better than you ever have before!"_

A darkness...was this what she was talking about? _But how can I learn more about myself if I no longer exist?!_

My body began shaking slightly as the truth finally sank in. I was going to die. I was never going to write another report again, never see Jack again, and never feel life flow through my body again.

_I don't want to die! I'm not ready!_ But I knew that only I was to blame for all of this happening to me. I had brought my own death upon myself.

The ground got closer and closer, and it felt like my heart would stop before I reached the ground. I shut my eyes, bracing myself for the worst...

Then suddenly...it stopped. I was no longer falling. I knew I must have hit the ground, but I felt no pain whatsoever. I tried to move, but found that I was stuck, surrounded by purple mist on all sides. _What's going on? Why can't I move?_

A duel card suddenly fell onto my chest. Before I could wonder what it was doing here, more of them fell on top of me. They started to glow and release smoke, and the images on the cards rusted. My body began glowing, and I could feel a weird change starting to happen to me...


	2. Chapter 1: Regret

**Here is chapter 1! Sorry if it is a bit confusing at first, but since Carly wasn't exactly herself when she was duelling Sayer again as a Dark Signer I skipped that part and went straight to after she changes back at the end of episode 39. Please enjoy this chapter and expect chapter 2 to be posted soon!**

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Chapter 1

_Regret_

I walked slowly along the deck of a building, completely confused. Hadn't I just fallen to my death? What was I doing on the top of a building, still alive?

"What?" I asked aloud, wanting to know the reason for my weird case of amnesia. "What just happened? How did I get way up here?"

I gasped and clutched my head as my memory began returning to me. "Oh no! Did I really just duel the head of the Arcadia Movement?" That's when I noticed the weight on my left arm. What was up with that?

Looking at my arm, I saw a strange black and orange duel disk. "Huh? What's with this duel disk?" It wasn't any kind of duel disk I'd ever seen. I also noticed a slight irritation on my right arm, and I rolled down my glove to see what was bothering it and gasped. There was a mark on my arm resembling a hummingbird. "What's this mark on my arm?!"

I began to sink to the ground, worried that if I continued standing any longer I would fall over from shock. My voice shook as I spoke. "What's going on? Why am I freaking out like this?"

I did nothing to stop the tears that started running down my cheeks. I was too confused and afraid. I had been about to die, and then suddenly I was up on a building with a strange duel disk and a Dark Signer mark.

"Carly..." a voice echoed, and I opened my eyes. "Don't be afraid of your destiny..."

I lifted my head to see a figure approaching me from within the cloud of smoke. The person had long black hair and wore black clothing with green markings on it. Her eyes were black with blue irises. She looked like Misty, the model I had met at that party, only a scarier-looking version.

"Is that you, Misty?" I asked.

"You were chosen, Carly," she continued, ignoring my question. "Just as I was chosen."

"Chosen for what?" The way she was speaking was strange. It wasn't like the way she spoke when reading peoples' fortunes. It was...darker, more mysterious. I didn't like it.

As she continued speaking, memories of my fall began to flash before my eyes. "Greatness. You were chosen by the Immortals. When the life you once knew was taken away, you had unfinished business. Something you needed to say or do. The Immortals gave you their power so that you could...well...stick around. Same kind of thing happened to me."

_What is she talking about? What are the Immortals?_

"We're still in this world, but we're not part of it anymore." She raised her right arm as she spoke. It had a mark that resembled a lizard on it. "Not as we once were, anyway. This mark is proof."

"No..." I could feel the tears flowing faster as I exclaimed, "That's a lie!"

I covered my face with my duel disk hand and cried, not wanting to believe this was happening. _I don't want to be a Dark Signer! I don't want to hurt anyone! Why was _I_ chosen to become a Dark Signer? Why? Why...?_

I felt Misty's hand on my shoulder, comforting me. "I understand. It's a lot to take in, I know. Don't worry, you will understand soon. But before you can do that..." She brought me into a hug and I cried into her shoulder, wishing desperately that this had never happened. "What is your unfinished business? And how can it benefit the Dark Signers?"

I could hear the sound of a helicopter approaching, but I could only continue crying. Misty helped me into a standing position and softly said, "It's time to go, Carly." I was blindly led into the helicopter by Misty, and after helping into one of the helicopter's seats she sat in the chair next to me, her hand resting on my shoulder in comfort.

Though my vision was bleary I could see two other people sitting in the seats in front of Misty and me. One was wearing a black outfit similar to Misty's, but it looked like a guy version and it had yellow markings on it instead of the green patterns on Misty's. He flew the helicopter. The other was a well-built man with long, dark hair, but he didn't wear the same kind of cloak. Actually, he looked just like any other regular person. _Maybe he was forced into becoming a Dark Signer as well,_ I guessed. But although his eyes weren't black, he showed no signs of misery. His face was completely emotionless.

"Who's the new girl?" the man wearing the black cloak with yellow designs asked. "And why are her eyes normal?"

I felt Misty's hand on my shoulder tense at his question, and when I looked over at her I saw that her eyes were protective and angry. She glared at the man as she replied, "She's only just become a Dark Signer, Devack!"

"You didn't answer my first question, Misty," the man known as Devack replied. "Who's the girl?"

Misty sighed, obviously irritated. I was glad she was mad at Devack, not me, because I could tell she wasn't a person you would want to get on the bad side of. "This is Carly, she was chosen by the Immortal Aslla piscu."

"Why would Aslla piscu choose some kid? What's so special about her?" Devack asked contemptuously.

"How about defeating Sayer, leader of the Arcadia Movement?" Misty challenged. I winced as her words reminded me of the duel, and how I sent Sayer falling to his death...

Misty noticed and turned to me with an apologetic look, as if to say, _'Sorry about bringing that up, I know you're not used to being a Dark Signer yet.'_ I gave her a small smile through my tear-stained face to reply, _'It's okay. I know you're only helping me.'_

Devack saw the looks that passed between the two of us and snorted in disgust. Misty turned back to him, her eyes alight with fury. Devack just smirked, as if amused by Misty's rage. This only made the model angrier, and if looks could kill, Devack would have died. Well, died for a second time.

Throughout all of this, the seemingly non-Dark Signer remained silent. I couldn't help but wonder what he was doing here if he wasn't a Dark Signer. _Maybe he's going to become a Dark Signer?_ I wondered. _But who is he? What reason does he have for joining the Dark Signers?_

I would have asked, but I knew it would be rude of me to stick my nose into other peoples' business so I kept silent. I felt more tears forming as I remembered being a reporter and how I was always in other peoples' business. But now I would never again be Carly Carmine, not-so-expert reporter.

I hadn't realized that we had landed until I felt Misty gently guiding me out of the helicopter. We were in an area I recognized from pictures to be the B.A.D. area of the Satellite. We stood in front of a large hole where Zero Reverse had happened, and when I looked into it I couldn't see the bottom. Misty appeared beside me and offered me her hand. I took it gratefully.

Devack took a few steps forward and lifted up a rock, pushing a button that was hidden underneath. The earth vibrated slightly as a hidden door opened and revealed a stairway leading into the hole. He started to descend the staircase, the non-Dark Signer following as though on an unspoken command. Misty turned to me, a reassuring smile on her face. "Don't be afraid, Carly."

"I-I'm not afraid!" I exclaimed indignantly, but my shaky voice begged to differ.

Misty smiled in amusement and she walked to the edge of the stairs. I followed nervously, clutching her hand tighter. I started shaking when I saw the hole up close. It was even darker and creepier than I thought it had been. Misty gave my hand a gentle, comforting squeeze. "Let's go."


	3. Chapter 2: Struggle

**Chapter 2! Yes a lot of chapters are being posted at once, but I started this story a couple weeks ago and just went right through it. Chapter 3 isn't complete I'm afraid, but that's the chapter with the first duel in it so I'm going to take a bit of time to write it. I apologize if it's confusing in the later part of this chapter when Aslla piscu appears, but I wanted to have Carly's Earthbound Immortal talk to her at some point. Now enjoy reading!**

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Chapter 2

_Struggle_

I stood outside the door that led to the Dark Signers' meeting room with Misty. She turned to me, and I could see the worry in her black eyes. "Are you sure you're ready to do this?" she asked. "I can always tell them you're not ready yet, and you can have some time to yourself in your room."

Misty had shown me my room as soon as we finished descending the stairs. It was a simple bedroom; about as good as it can be when you're who knows how far underground. On the door was the Hummingbird mark, so that I'd know which room was mine. Misty also explained to me that the mark on the door meant that only the person with that mark was allowed in. Only if the person whose room it was gave another permission to enter could they open the door.

I shook my head. "I'm ready," I told her quietly. I wanted to be brave, even if deep down I wanted to run away, back to my old life where I belonged. Misty still looked worried, but she nodded and led me into the room.

It was dark, the only light source being a few candles resting on a wooden table. There were three people sitting at the table. One of them was Devack, the man with the yellow-patterned cloak. The other two I didn't recognize. The one sitting next to Devack had a black cloak with blue designs on it, and he had silvery-blue hair. His face looked slightly insane, and I was hoping that I wouldn't have to sit near him. The one sitting at the end of the table opposite the door wore a cloak with red designs on it and had pale blonde hair. They all had Dark Signer marks on their faces.

Misty led me to my seat, a chair with the hummingbird mark on it, the same mark as the one on my arm. She sat down to my right, on the chair with the lizard mark. Once we were seated the man in the red-designed cloak began speaking.

"So this is the one Aslla piscu has chosen." He sounded faintly amused as he spoke. I could see Misty glaring at him from the corner of my eye. "Tell me, what is your name?"

"C-Carly sir," I stuttered nervously.

"Ah, Carly. What a nice name. I am Roman, leader of the Dark Signers and possessor of the Spider birthmark." He held out his hand to me. It looked huge, as if he only had to squeeze a little bit to crush my hand. But I knew it would be rude to refuse the gesture, so I hesitantly shook his hand.

"I'm Kalin!" the one with blue markings on his cloak exclaimed after I shook hands with Roman. His voice sounded just as insane as his face looked. "My birthmark is the Giant!"

"And you already know that my name is Devack," said man stated calmly, a stark contrast to Kalin's voice. "I bear the Monkey birthmark."

"So, now that everyone has been introduced, why don't you tell us your story about how you became a Dark Signer?" Roman inquired.

Before I could do anything Misty jumped to my defence. "She's only just become a Dark Signer! She's not used to all of this yet!"

Roman's eyes narrowed. "I asked Carly, not you. I don't think she needs you to speak for her."

"But she's only seventeen! How can you expect her to understand?" Misty demanded.

As they argued, I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. All of my sorrow was beginning to come back to me, but I held it back. _I can do this! Not much longer before I can leave and go back to my room, then I can cry all I want! I just have to hang on..._

Roman and Misty were now standing up as their heated argument got fiercer. "Carly's one of us now, and she has to accept her destiny!" Roman roared, slamming his hands on the table.

"How can you ask her to believe this is her destiny when she's still trying to accept the fact that she's dead?!" Misty exclaimed, before gasping as she realized what she had said.

The tears broke free, pouring down my face with no signs of stopping. Misty tried to apologize, but I was already running out the door to my room.

* * *

I collapsed onto my bed crying for what felt like hours, my confusion and fear returning stronger than ever. _Why me?! Why was I chosen to be a Dark Signer? I don't want to take peoples' souls! I don't want to hurt anyone! I don't want to be dead..._

I heard a soft knock on my door. "Carly?" a voice asked. It was Misty.

I turned over on my bed, facing the other side of my room so I couldn't see the door. "Go away," I mumbled.

"Carly, I'm really sorry for what I said, and I really want to make it up to you."

"Then give me my life back!" I exclaimed, feeling fresh tears pouring down my face. "I don't want to be a Dark Signer! I want to be a reporter again! I want to see my friends again!"

"Carly..." she drifted off, at a loss for words. For a while there was just silence other than the sound of my crying, but I could tell she was still standing outside the door. I didn't bother saying anything to her, I was too upset.

I wished that this was all just a dream, that I would wake up safe and sound in the back of my car where I had slept when I couldn't pay the rent for my apartment. I would get another lecture from my boss about being fired if I didn't find a scoop. I would frantically drive around the city to try and find an interesting story to report. I would find one, and my boss would be satisfied for a while. I would relax for the rest of the day, relieved that I had not been fired. I would fall asleep snuggled under my blanket in the back of my car. Then it would start all over again the next day.

Finally Misty spoke, bringing me back to the present where I was huddled on my bed. "Well, if you want to talk about it, you know where to find me." I heard her footsteps fade as she left for her room.

I continued to lie on my bed long after Misty had left, eventually crying myself to sleep.

* * *

I woke up to nothing. Everywhere around me there was only darkness. _Where...where am I?_

_Carly..._

"Wh-who's there?" I asked, my voice quivering slightly.

A bunch of orange lines appeared in front of me, slowly taking the shape of a very large bird. It had two big, round orange eyes that seemed to stare into my soul. It was the Hummingbird, Earthbound Immortal Aslla piscu.

_You must accept your destiny as a Dark Signer..._

"No!" I refused. Why couldn't anyone see that I didn't want to be a Dark Signer?! Couldn't they see that I didn't want to hurt anyone?!

_It will bring you to your true future..._

"My true future?" I asked the Earthbound Immortal, feeling curious now. What was the Hummingbird talking about?

_Yes...If you accept being a Dark Signer, your future will be revealed to you..._

"How? When? What _is _my future?"

_You will find out soon...You will see your true fate unfold before your eyes..._

I wasn't sure what to think. Was the Immortal trying to trick me? Or would I really get to see what my future held if I became a Dark Signer? Would I even _want_ to see what my future would be like?

"How do I know you're not trying to trick me?" I enquired.

_Only by following your destiny and becoming a Dark Signer will you be able to see your true future..._

Aslla piscu faded into the darkness, and suddenly I was lying on my bed again, my cheeks still damp from the tears that had stained my face. I felt confused as I remembered what the Immortal had said to me in my vision.

_Aslla piscu said that I would see my future if I became a Dark Signer, but what is my future? Would it be good or bad? Would I be able to return to normal, to live the way I used to as though nothing had happened? Is it possible for Dark Signers to come back to life? Or do they remain dead forever?_

I would have begun crying again at the thought of not being able to return to my old life, but my tears were already spent.

I heard a knock on the door, snapping me out of my thoughts. "Carly? I'm sorry to bother you, but it's important." The voice was Misty's.

I got up and opened the door. Misty appeared calm, but I could see that she was both worried and angry. I started feeling a little nervous. "What is it?"

"Roman wishes to put you through a test," Misty explained, spitting out Roman's name in disgust. "He wants to know how good of a duelist you are, so he's getting you to duel so he can observe your skills. You'll need your duel disk and your deck."

I grabbed my duel disk and slipped it onto my left arm, still unused to how weird it felt. I was used to wearing duel disks, though I didn't duel a whole lot, but the Dark Signers' duel disks were different from regular ones. They were a bit heavier, and I could feel the dark energy that came from them when I touched them.

I followed Misty down the hallway, a different path than the way to the meeting room. As we turned down several corridors I wondered how any of the Dark Signers could possibly know where to go. From what I could see, this place was very large and full of rooms and passageways, too many to count.

Eventually we stopped at a door. Gesturing for me to go first, I turned the handle and pushed the door open. I stepped into the large room with Misty following.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"This is the duelling area," she replied.

I looked around. It wasn't much, just a simple room large enough for duels to take place. There were torches on all sides of the room to provide enough light to see by. It didn't give a lot of light, though, for there were still several places in the room that weren't lit by the glow of the flames.

"So...who am I duelling against?"

I heard someone approach us from behind. A deep voice answered my question. "Me."


	4. Chapter 3: A Test of Power

**Hey, it's chapter 3! I apologize if this chapter's duel is too short, but I really can't write duels well and I spent _hours_ today writing it, and now if I did the duel better I would have to redo this chapter and I'm way too lazy to do that. Also, this chapter's title may not have a whole lot to do with the chapter, but 'Duel' was way too simple and I couldn't think of anything good that wasn't a one-word title (as I looked over my two stories I realized that I've been writing mostly only one-word titles).**

**One more thing before you start reading this chapter. Any bold numbers in brackets (example: [1]) are original cards. I have explained in the story what they do, but at the bottom of this chapter I will explain what they do again. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail with it, just enough so you know the cards' effects. Okay, now you can start reading! Enjoy!**

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Chapter 3

_A Test of Power_

I turned around. It was Roman. _I was going to duel Roman?!_

He walked past me onto the duelling area, stopping at the other end and turning to face me. He brought out his duel disk, activating it at the same time. "Misty, you may go. So, Carly, are you ready to duel?"

Behind me I could hear Misty leaving the room after a moment of hesitation. Nervously I walked forward until I was on the opposite side of the battlefield facing him. _How can I possibly beat Roman?! He's the leader of the Dark Signers!_

Hesitantly I took out and activated my duel disk, conscious of Roman's eyes watching my every move, impatient to get the duel started. Our life point meters went up to 4000, and the duel began.

"Why don't you go first, Carly?" Roman offered as we both drew our five cards.

"Um...okay," I replied, drawing a card. I studied my hand carefully, trying to figure out a strategy to beat someone who had probably duelled ten times more than I have. I was surprised to find that my hand had cards I had never used before. I vaguely remembered some of them from my second duel with Sayer, but I wasn't sure I could win with a deck I had used once when I was pretty much under mind control.

_If I used this card then I could...no, that won't work. Well what about...no, he'll probably use that against me. Maybe if I...Argh! This is pointless! How on earth am I going to be able to beat Roman when I don't even know what's in my deck?!_

"Are you going to make a move or not?" Roman's deep voice startled me, drawing me back to the present where I stood opposite him on the battlefield.

"Um...I-I play F-Fortune Lady L-Light in defense mode!" I stuttered, placing the card horizontally on my duel disk. I decided to play it safe, since I didn't know what was in Roman's or my deck. My monster appeared onto the field in a blue glow. Fortune Lady Light had blonde hair and a yellow outfit that represented its attribute, and in its right hand it held a staff with a yellow sun at the tip. Its colour turned blue as it switched to defense mode. Its ATK and DEF were 200 due to its effect.

"I end my turn," I finished.

Roman laughed. "That's it? That's the best move you can make? I was expecting more from the Hummingbird's vessel," he taunted. "Well, if your turn's over then it's my turn!" He drew a card and added it to his hand.

"I place two cards facedown," he began, placing two cards in the spell/trap zone. He then placed a third card in another slot. "And now I activate Payment **[1]**! Now I discard the top card of my deck, and during your draw phase you show me the card you have drawn. If you draw the same type as the one I discarded it immediately goes to the graveyard, no questions asked."

Roman drew the top card and looked at it, then showed it to me. It was Ground Spider. A monster card.

After sending it to the graveyard he ended his turn. Now it was my turn again. I rested my hand on the top card of my deck, reluctant to draw it in case it was a monster. If it was, it was sent straight to the graveyard. I could feel Roman's triumphant gaze on me. Not willing to let him intimidate me I closed my eyes and drew my card. Slowly I opened one eye, then both in shock at the card I had drawn.

It was the strongest card in my deck: Earthbound Immortal Aslla piscu. It was also a monster card.

"I can guess from the look on your face that you've just drawn your Earthbound Immortal. Shame you aren't going to get to use it; it may have been your only chance to win this duel. Lucky for you Payment's effect can only be used once, then the card is destroyed."

Hesitantly I sent the Earthbound Immortal card to the graveyard. I could just barely hear its voice as I did.

_By doing this you have only sealed your fate, Roman..._

I shivered slightly. The Hummingbird's voice had an eerie undertone.

Shaking off the Earthbound Immortal's words, I continued my turn. "I sacrifice Fortune Lady Light to summon Fortune Lady Earth!"

Fortune Lady Light became a sphere of colourful, glowing light, which shifted into Fortune Lady Earth. The second Fortune Ladylooked similar to the first, but its outfit was brown, it had glasses, and its staff had a round brown ball at the end. Its ATK and DEF were 2400.

"Now Fortune Lady Earth, attack Roman directly!" I commanded. Fortune Lady Earthobeyed, soaring across the field to strike Roman directly. I watched with satisfaction as his life points dropped to 1600.

"I activate my trap card, Wolf in Sheep's Clothing!" Roman declared. I froze with shock. I should have known better than to attack, I should have realized that there was a reason Roman let me deal 2400 points of damage to him.

"This card allows me to special summon a level 1 monster in my hand and another monster with the same name from my deck!" He summoned two Dark Spider monsters, and I had no choice but to end my turn. I knew what was coming next.

Roman smirked at me. "It's such a shame that you had to discard your Earthbound Immortal, Carly. Now you have nothing to protect you from mine! I activate the field spell Spider Web! With this card every monster that attacks is switched to defense mode after calculating damage, and it can't switch its battle position until the end of its controller's next turn."

Roman's field spell took effect, and the duelling arena became covered with spider webs. One strand fell across my shoulder and I jumped, quickly brushing it off. I sighed in relief as I watched it fall to the floor. I wasn't the biggest fan of spiders or their webs. Unfortunately for me, the largest spider in Duel Monsters was about to appear.

"Now I release my two monsters to summon Earthbound Immortal Uru!"

His two Dark Spider monsters turned into colourful balls of light and swirled around each other like a dance as they flew up in the air, merging together to form the familiar stone that signalled the summoning of an Earthbound Immortal. Instead of the usual glowing purple comets of peoples' souls, black smoke was being absorbed by the stone. When black smoke was absorbed it meant that enough souls had already been absorbed by the Immortal to sustain itself, and it simply had to absorb the energy of shadows to reappear in this world.

A beam of purple light sliced through the stone. The light momentarily blinded me and I had to shield my eyes with my arm. When the light faded a large black spider with red markings took its place. It was the Spider Earthbound Immortal, Uru. It had 3000 ATK and DEF, making it stronger than my Fortune Lady Earth. Although that didn't really matter since Earthbound Immortals were able to attack directly.

"Earthbound Immortal Uru, attack!"

Uru blasted webs at me and as the attack collided with my stomach I was shocked to find that the attack hurt. The attack blew me off my feet, and I landed on my back, winded. I could hear Roman laugh as my life points dropped to 1000.

I got up shakily, clutching my stomach. That's when I noticed something. Uru was still in attack mode.

"Why...isn't Uru...in...defense mode?" I asked, struggling to find the breath to speak with.

"Because I activated Card's Will **[2]**! If one of my monsters is forced to change battle positions by a card's effect, this card can negate that effect and my monster remains in the same position. And with that I end my turn."

"Then...it's my turn," I panted as Fortune Lady Earth's effect kicked in and dealt 400 points of damage to Roman, bringing his total down to 1200. I then drew a card. Earthbound Revenge **[3]**. I had never seen this card before. I read its description and my eyes widened in surprise._ So this is what Aslla piscu meant..._

"I activate...Earthbound Revenge!" I declared as I placed the card in a spell/trap slot. Roman was frozen with shock. "This card...can only be activated...if there is an Earthbound Immortal...in my graveyard...that wasn't summoned to the field at all...during the duel. This card...deals damage to your life points...equal to my Earthbound Immortal's attack points!"

A faded image of Aslla piscu appeared on the field. It reached out for Roman, and stabbed him with its beak. Roman cried out in agony as the Hummingbird's attack burned his chest. He fell to his knees as his life points hit zero, and the Duel Monsters 'holograms' disappeared.

I stood regaining my breath, while Roman clutched his chest. Soon he got up and began walking out the door, but paused next to me.

"I see now why Aslla piscu has chosen you, Carly." Then he left.

I blinked, wondering what Roman meant by that. Was it because I had beaten him? I supposed it could have been, but somehow I felt that it was another reason...

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I turned and left the duelling arena.

* * *

**[1] Payment: A spell card that forces you to discard the top card on your deck. Then, each time your opponent draws during their draw phase, if that card is the same type (monster, spell, or trap) as the one you discarded, it is sent directly to the graveyard. This effect is only used once, so as soon as your opponent draws the same type of card this card is sent to the graveyard. This card was inspired by Destiny Activator (in fact, until I really read the card I thought this was the effect of the card. Just goes to show you how smart I am).**

**[2] Card's Will: When one of your monsters is forced to switch battle positions because of a card's effect, this card negates that effect and your monster remains in the same battle position. This card's effect is only able to be used once.**

**[3] Earthbound Revenge (my personal favourite of the three): You can only activate this card when you have an Earthbound Immortal in your graveyard that wasn't summoned to the field at all during the duel. This card allows you to deal damage to your opponent's life points equal to the amount of your Earthbound Immortal's attack points. This effect cannot be stopped by any card (as in, if this card is activated then your opponent will lose life points no matter what. Those Earthbound Immortals mean business).**

**If you wish to use any of these cards or other cards I create in your stories, then go ahead. You don't even have to ask me! How nice am I? The only thing I do ask, however, is that you don't take credit for creating the idea. Other than that, feel free to use any of them! If there is a card with the same effects as any of these exists or you have already created a card like one of these then I sincerely apologize but I didn't know. If you have created a card like one of these and don't want me using it/them then please tell me and I will redo this chapter without the card(s).**


	5. Chapter 4: Past, Present, and Future

**Okay, I sincerely apologize to any of you still following this story, first for not updating in a long time and second for the terrible writing I tried to pass off as this chapter previously. This one's really long, the longest chapter yet, but that's only because most of this story is made up of memory scenes, which are in third person by the way. I tried to follow canon as well as adding my own originality, but I think it failed pretty badly. I hope you can forgive me for this failing story and try to enjoy it as best as you can. Good luck surviving this chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 4

_Past, Present, and Future_

I flopped down onto my bed, feeling exhausted after the duel. I was still getting used to how real Dark Signers' duels were. I could feel all the cuts and bruises on my body, but I was so tired it wasn't difficult to ignore them. My eyelids grew heavy, and soon I gave in to sleep.

* * *

"_Michael, what would you like to be when you grow up?"_

"_A fireman!" the young brown-haired boy replied loudly._

"_What about you, Jessica?" the teacher asked a dainty-looking girl with shoulder-length red hair and a matching pink-and-white skirt and top._

"_I'm going to be an author," Jessica replied in a soft voice._

_The teacher turned to the girl sitting next to Jessica. She had short black hair with longer bangs and unusual swirled spectacles. "Carly? What are you going to be?"_

_The black-haired girl looked down at her feet and mumbled, "I don't know."_

_The teacher hushed the quiet laughter coming from the other children before asking, "What about a model? An artist? A mechanic?"_

_Carly shook her head. None of those jobs suited her. "Well, what do you like to do?"_

"_Um...well, I like to write stories, and...I like watching people do their best. And my mom says I take good pictures."_

"_Hmm, let's see, writing, pictures, people...What about a reporter?"_

_At this Carly looked up and blinked. "A...reporter?"_

"_Yes," the teacher replied. "Someone who takes pictures and writes about interesting stories. Like a storyteller, in a way."_

A storyteller..._Carly smiled. This was just the right job for her._

"_I'm going to be a reporter!" she exclaimed cheerfully. The teacher smiled at her before moving on to the next child._

_Carly Carmine, expert reporter...She liked the sound of that._

* * *

"_So, you want a job, huh?" the man, Mr. Pitts, asked._

"_Y-yes, please," Carly stuttered in reply, noticeably shaking with nervousness._

"_Where's your résumé?"_

"_O-Oh! I-It's right here, s-sir!" Carly scrambled to pull her résumé out of her bag, who knows how she could find it among all the papers in it. Nevertheless, she managed to pull it out and give it to Mr. Pitts._

_He scanned it quickly with his eyes, a noticeable frown appearing on his face. "You've been fired from _every_ job on this list? All 52?"_

_Carly ducked her head in embarrassment. "Y-yes."_

_Seeming to notice something odd about the résumé, other than all the jobs Carly was fired from, Mr. Pitts asked, "How do you get fired from alphabetizing books?"_

"_Um..." Carly went red in the face, trying not to remember how she tripped over a large stray book on the floor and fell into one of the bookshelves, which knocked over the others in a domino effect. Quickly thinking up a reasonable excuse, she answered, "I...was late for work one day and the librarian was really strict, so she fired me."_

"_Mm...Late, huh?" Carly tensed, afraid he had caught on to her lie. But he just continued, "Well, if you're going to work for me then you'd better make sure you're not late here."_

"_Oh, o-of course not! I'll be right on time! No, five minutes early every day!" Carly exclaimed in excitement._

"_Yeah, yeah...well, if there's nothing else, then I guess you're hired," Mr. Pitts finished._

"_R-really? I get to be a reporter? Alright! It's always been my life's dream to-"_

"_Whoa, hold on there," Mr. Pitts interrupted, causing Carly to blink in confusion. "Who said anything about being a reporter?"_

"_But I thought-"_

"_You have to _earn_ the job of reporter, work your way up," he explained. "First you start out as a blogger."_

_Carly's jaw dropped. "A blogger? But I can totally handle being a reporter!"_

_Mr. Pitts looked sceptical as he waved around her résumé. "You mean like how you 'handled' all these other jobs?"_

_Carly winced and smiled guiltily. "Suddenly being a blogger doesn't sound so bad."_

"_That's the spirit. Now, I'm feeling a bit thirsty. Why not get me some coffee?"_

* * *

"_Jack's in room 304," Carly said to herself as she turned another corner, wearing a nurse's outfit in order to sneak into the hospital unnoticed. She froze with shock at what she saw. There was Jack Atlas himself, standing right outside his room with a sling on his right arm. "Mr. Atlas!" she exclaimed in shock._

_He turned and began to walk in her direction, and Carly took this as an invitation to start asking. "Um, uh, say, I was wondering if—Ahh!" _

_Jack had walked right past her, not even seeming to notice her presence. "Trudge," he acknowledged a black-haired man with a nasty scar on his face crumpled by his grin and a green Security officer suit heading their way. "You're looking a little rough, officer."_

_Trudge continued to walk towards them, not seeming to have heard Jack's words. That's when Carly noticed the strange purple spider on his right arm. Jack noticed it too and gasped. The recognition in his eyes told Carly he had seen that mark before...but where on earth would he have seen a mark like that?_

"_What's going on? Why do you have that mark on your arm?" Jack demanded. And that's when Carly remembered, _she_ had seen that mark somewhere before as well. When she had witnessed Yusei duelling, his opponent had had the same mark that the officer known as Trudge did._

"_That's the same glowing mark that hooded duelist had on his arm when he was duelling Yusei!" she told Jack. Trudge activated his duel disk, still not seeming to have heard anything either of them had said._

_Jack asked, "So, are you the fifth Signer?" _Signer?_ Carly wondered in confusion._

"_My Master is a Dark Signer," Trudge finally spoke, in a voice that sounded almost mechanical. _Dark Signer? What is going on here?_ Carly wondered as he continued, "And he sent me here to extinguish the light of your mark, so that we can envelop the world in a cloak of darkness!"_

That doesn't sound good!_ Carly thought with alarm._

"_And you will be the first to fall," the Security officer finished, still wearing a sinister grin._

"_I seriously doubt that!" Jack retorted._

"_Hang on!" Carly interrupted, getting in front of Jack so she could face him. "You can't duel him, Jack! Yusei battled someone like him, it was some guy dressed in a bathrobe and he had the same weird purple mark glowing on his arm and, I'm Carly by the way." She thought she should introduce herself, even if it was an unusual time to do so. After all, it wasn't every day an excited fan like Carly got to meet the famous Jack Atlas._

"_What? Did you say Yusei?" Jack asked, not seeming to have heard anything else Carly had said. "When did all this happen?"_

"_Last night. And, uh, Yusei won." She supposed that it wasn't going to make Jack not want to duel if Yusei had duelled the guy with the weird mark and won._

"_Carly," Jack addressed her by her name for the first time._

"_Yeah, uh, hi!" She was a bit surprised that Jack would call her by her name, and she suddenly felt stupid for what she said in her excitement that Jack acknowledged her with her name._

"_Tell me something, Carly," he continued, and Carly let out a silent breath of relief that he had not seemed to notice her stupid words. "Do you know how to duel?"_

_Carly was rather surprised by the question. He didn't want to duel her...did he? "Well, kind of-"_

"_In that case," Jack said, not waiting for the rest of Carly's answer, "lend me your hands, will you?"_

_Jack dumped his duel disk in Carly's hands and she barely had time to gasp in surprise before he spun her around and stopped her so she was on his right side. He held on to her left wrist and she couldn't help but notice how strong of a grip he had._

"_You just have to hold the cards for me and draw, right?"_

"_Uh-huh? But, I, uh-"_

"_I have no idea what this purple glow is all about, but if Yusei was able to kick someone like him down, then I'll have no problem!" he stated._

_Trudge took a small step closer. "Come on," Jack said. Carly jumped back from him slightly, still shocked about what he was asking of her. "Put the duel disk on my arm."_

"_Uh, right, okay," Carly said hesitantly. She slipped the duel disk onto his good arm and it glowed in response, signalling it was activated and ready for battle._

"_Are you ready?" Jack asked._

"_Bring it on!" Carly exclaimed with the other two, and their life point meters went up to 4000. The duel had started._

"_Wow, did I just say that?" Carly asked herself, surprised at her outburst._

_She gasped in surprise as the purple ring of fire appeared, this time engulfing her as well. She turned around to Jack and saw a red mark glowing on his injured arm. "Hey! Jack, look, your arm is glowing too!"_

"_I can see that," Jack replied slightly irritably, and Carly suddenly realized that her statement had offended his intelligence. She apologized before continuing, "Yusei's arm was glowing last night as well, and then this same circle appeared! What's it all mean?"_

_Jack may have replied, but Trudge's mechanical voice interrupted, leaving no chance for a reply. "Let's cut the conversation, shall we?" He drew a card and continued, "I'm summoning Warm Worm in defense mode!"_

_A glow appeared on the field through which the ugly worm appeared before glowing blue as it switched to defense mode. It had 1400 DEF._

"_This is real, front line journalism right here!" Carly exclaimed. _Getting to duel alongside the dauntless and dashing Jack Atlas! _She _

"_It's my turn!" Carly shouted in excitement as she drew a card._

"_Actually, it's my turn," Jack corrected her._

"_Oh, right, sorry," Carly apologized, realizing she had gotten ahead of herself._

"_To start things off I'm summoning Vice Dragon from my hand," Jack commanded. Carly, meanwhile, looked at the cards in confusion. _Which one's Vice Dragon?_ Knowing Jack would get impatient if she didn't hurry up, she randomly grabbed a card with a purple dragon on it, hoping that was the right one._

_Considering Jack hadn't reprimanded her, she assumed that the card was the right one. She sighed in relief. An angry Jack could be_ really_ scary._

_The duel continued on, ending quite quickly. Carly didn't find the rest of the duel very interesting, save when Jack asked her if they could finish the duel together. At that moment she could have sworn she had gone to heaven. She was just thankful that she didn't faint in front of him._

_At the end of the duel Jack had nearly collapsed from exhaustion, but Carly grabbed him before he could fall. She would have blushed had she not been so worried for his health._

"_Would you mind...helping me get out of this hospital?" At that Carly really did blush, though she was thankful Jack had been too weak and didn't notice. She rushed him out of the hospital on a stretcher, placing him under a blanket so that all who saw her would think she was rushing a severely injured patient somewhere, or simply disposing of a dead body._

_She had brought him back to her house after that, where he rested and recovered for a few days._

* * *

"_If this was where you wanted to go you coulda just said so," Carly said, walking up behind Jack who stood at the railing, looking out at the sunset. In the back of her mind Carly couldn't help but notice how beautiful it was up there._

_Watching his backside silently, Carly noticed that he seemed worse than he had been previously. _And what is he looking at?_ she asked herself, knowing that Jack wasn't profound enough to be staring at the sunset and thinking about the beauty of nature._

_Remembering his past, Carly asked tentatively, "Can...you see the Satellite sector from here? Do you miss it, Jack? ...Do you want to go back there or something? It's alright, you can tell me." Truth was, Carly wanted desperately for Jack to think of her as a friend, not just some fan girl reporter. She didn't show it on the outside, but on the inside she felt an intense loneliness settling in. She wanted Jack to be happy, but the thought of him going back to Satellite and leaving her behind hurt more than any insult Angela had ever thrown at her._

"_Two years ago, I gave up everything I knew to come to this city from the Satellite," Jack said, and Carly could feel that he was reliving his past. She wanted to share it with him, but she knew that she wasn't meant to be a part of his life. She was just some clumsy reporter who had stumbled upon this situation completely by chance. Although she grinned slightly at the thought of how jealous Angela would be had she been watching them. How jealous Mina was right now as she hid behind the building, peeking at them with Trudge._

_Carly quickly shook away her thoughts and listened intently as Jack continued. "I betrayed my friend, the people I grew up with, I turned my back on everything I was. And what did I gain?"_

_Carly knew it was a rhetorical question, so she didn't reply, though she wanted to tell him, _Being the King! Having fans chase you at every corner! Being on the face of every magazine and newspaper in the entire city! _But she knew that answer wouldn't satisfy him. He had given up his friendship for fame, and Carly knew that wasn't a fair trade. She had never really had friends, so she didn't truly understand his pain, but she knew that it hurt to think of the friends he had previously had been replaced by obsessive fans who didn't know a single thing about the real Jack._

"_Temporary greatness," Jack answered his question, saying it in such contempt that Carly almost knew he was asking himself how he could be so blind as to think that was worth trading everything important in his life for. "The admiration of fickle fans who love you when you're on top, and hate you when you're not. In order to be the duelist I wanted to be, I lost sight of the duelist that I really am. I wanted to be the greatest. But I see now that I took the easy path. Now that it's too late, I know what I really stand for."_

_Carly could feel his sadness and regret coming off him in waves. She wanted to help, but she had no idea how. How does one go about giving someone back the life they once had? The only thing Carly could think of that might help a little was to encourage him to get it back, that he didn't have to give up._

_Since that was the only thing that came to mind, Carly decided that she had to go with it. "It's not too late, Jack," she began, feeling stupid for wording it so cliché-like, but she couldn't think of another way to put it without taking forever. "It's just...like...a-a do-over! You can use what you've learned and go forward!"_

_He didn't comment, and Carly assumed that he either didn't quite understand what she was saying or he thought she sounded like a complete idiot. She decided to word it a different way. "Think of it this way. Old Jack lost in the battle against Yusei, and New Jack was reborn! You can do it again, you can go back to the Satellite and right your wrongs! You can say sorry to your friends, and things can be like they were before!"_

_Jack was silent for a moment, probably thinking. Then he spoke in a quieter voice than normal, "You know what? You're right. I _can_ still do this."_

_Carly could feel the pure joy rising in her chest, but she was careful not to let anything show. He may have been inspired by her lame speech, well, either that or he was just being polite, but that didn't mean he considered her a friend or even an acquaintance in any way. She was still simply a girl who had helped him out._

"_That's it," he continued, taking off his sunglasses, "no more hiding, no more feeling sorry for myself!"_

_He tossed his hat into the sunset as he finished, "It's time to move on!"_

_Carly stared in horror at the $50 hat that was now flying over the water. "Uh, Jack? Th-that was my hat..."_

"_Sorry about that," Jack apologized._

* * *

I woke up with a start. That was it, I couldn't take it anymore! I had to leave these crazy Dark Signers and get back to my old life!

I got up and ran for my door as quickly as I could, but I ended up frozen to the spot just as my hand reached for the door.

"What?" I exclaimed in shock. I tried moving my body, but I was stuck. I couldn't move an inch.

_Carly, you can't just leave..._

I recognized that taunting voice. That was the voice of Aslla piscu. "Wha-what have you done to me? Why can't I move?"

_Once a Dark Signer, always a Dark Signer...You can't run away from your destiny, Carly..._

"Being a Dark Signer isn't my destiny!" I shouted.

_But it is...it has been decreed by the ancients who wielded the Gods before your generation...There is nothing you can do..._

"I won't let you! You can't keep me here!" I yelled defiantly. I struggled with all my might, and found to my satisfaction that I was able to move slightly. Maybe if I just tried hard enough, I could break whatever spell the Earthbound Immortal put on me and get out of here!

It took all my willpower to force my frozen limbs to move, but I managed to break free of the curse. I shoved open the door and ran out as fast as I could. To my annoyance the voice continued to speak.

_Wait...Don't you want to see your future?_

I stopped running. _My future? Can it really show me my future?_

The God took my silence as an invitation to continue. _If you'll let Me, I can show you what will be in store for you if you choose to stay with Us..._

I carefully considered my options. Run away and be done with this Dark Signer stuff for good, or listen to an evil God who's probably going to trick me into thinking I'm seeing my future. But then again, if Jack was in my future...

Aslla piscu seemed to know exactly what I was thinking. _He is...Now, are you willing to let Me show you what is in your future?_

I knew I was going to regret doing this. "Alright," I conceded.

I could almost feel the Earthbound Immortal smiling in delight. A horrifying picture. _Very well, then...The answer is in your cards..._

_My cards? How do my cards have anything to do with this?_ I took out my cards and stared at them. To my surprise one of them lit up, glowing an eerie gold colour. _Do I dare...?_ I reached slowly for the card, knowing that once I touched it there was no going back.

The instant my hand made contact with the card everything went white.

* * *

I opened my eyes and gasped in shock. I definitely wasn't in the Dark Signers' hideout anymore.

I was floating at least fifty feet in the air, above a desolate wasteland of dirt covered by rivers of lava. In front of me was a tower, the only landmark within miles. It was an old and broken tower, looking like it was in a state of disrepair. I felt myself being pulled towards it. I tried to struggle against it, but it was no use.

When I neared the old building I was shocked to see two people. I wasn't sure who I was more surprised to see. The taller one was none other than Jack Atlas, with the same blonde hair and violet eyes I had come to love. But his corneas were as black as shadows, and he wore a black cloak with orange patterns similar to the one I wore. On his right arm was a hummingbird mark, the exact same one on _my _right arm.

I felt cold with shock. Was Jack...a Dark Signer? But how?

In my shock I nearly forgot about the second person. My surprise was replaced with a different kind. It appeared as if I was looking in a mirror, because the second person on the balcony was...

Me.

As a Dark Signer.

With black eyes and a cruel smile.

I couldn't believe it. I had accepted being a Dark Signer? And Jack was one too?

I felt dizzy. Nothing made any sense anymore. If I had been standing on solid ground I was certain I would have collapsed already, but considering I was hovering in the air that wasn't exactly possible.

My vision became black, and I gladly gave in to the darkness.

* * *

When I dared to open my eyes again I was back where I had been before, standing in the middle of the hallway of the Dark Signers' base.

_So you see now...You have seen your future, and Jack is in it, by your side just as you have always wanted...The only thing standing between that being a dream and reality is your acceptance of being a Dark Signer...Do that, and your greatest dream will be real..._

The Earthbound Immortal's voice faded, and I could tell that it had left me alone to my thoughts. _What do I do?_ I asked myself helplessly. _Do I accept being a Dark Signer, and be with Jack for eternity? Or do I go back to my old life, a reporter who tries desperately to get his attention?_

The decision wasn't easy. I didn't want to destroy the world, but I also didn't want to go back to being Jack's fan girl.

The thought of Jack thinking nothing more of me than a pest hurt. A lot. I didn't want to become a Dark Signer and take over the world, but the thought of the one person I cared for most hating me was worse than the thought of hurting every other person on Earth.

I returned to my room and stepped out onto the balcony of it. It was connected to the hole in the B.A.D. area, so it connected directly to the stormy sky above me.

I didn't want to be a Dark Signer. I didn't want my destiny to be destroying the world. I only wanted Jack to like me. And if that meant I gave up my life for him, so be it.

I would become a Dark Signer for him.


	6. Chapter 5: Painful Confrontation

**Okay, so I finally forced myself to keep writing this. It's really more of a filler chapter, so please don't expect much from this. It was actually just going to be the beginning part of the next chapter but it ended up being longer than I thought, and since the next chapter is their duel which is going to be pretty long, I decided to do this as an individual chapter. I probably could have turned this into a really good chapter, but I'm terrible when it comes to describing things in-depth, as you've probably guessed from reading the rest of this story. But to be honest I think it's also the fact that I'm turning the anime into a story, which is really not working out so well. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter and try to ignore how badly it's written.**

**And just to let you all know, there will be only two chapters left of this story unless the duel ends up being more than one chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 5

_Painful Confrontation_

"Where are we going?" I asked as Misty pulled me along by my wrist, following Kalin and Devack. Greiger, the non-Dark Signer whose name Misty had told me earlier, remained behind for whatever reason. I hadn't seen him since I was taken to the Dark Signers' headquarters so I didn't know what had happened to him.

"Roman has called for us," Misty replied, not turning to look at me.

Roman? What could he want? Misty told me that sometime during my 'revelation' Roman had set out to a different part of Satellite, where Yusei was. She told me that he wanted to battle him, and test his skills. I had heard quite a bit from Jack, though I didn't know Yusei personally, and I had the feeling that Yusei wasn't about to lose that easily to Roman. Especially if he was going easy on him.

But that was what worried me. I still didn't know which side I was on. I had decided to accept being a Dark Signer, but only for Jack.

_Jack..._

If Yusei was there then that would mean Jack would be, too. My heart leapt at the thought of seeing him again. But was I ready to face him again? And what would he think, knowing I had become a Dark Signer? Would he be happy when he heard the reason behind it, or would he be upset?

I quickly stopped my thoughts there. I couldn't handle the thought of Jack being disappointed in me, especially not if I were doing it for him. Rejection from Jack was something I feared most. I would prefer to keep my feelings hidden from him than for him to turn them down.

I hoped that when I saw him again I wouldn't break down in front of him.

* * *

Knowing that it would be best if Jack didn't recognize me, I had put my hood on so my face was covered. It hurt to have to hide from him like this, but it would hurt even more to have to face his disappointment.

"_RALLY!"_

The distressed cry rang out into the blackness of the night. I winced at the level of emotion embedded in the cry. I didn't recognize the person's voice, but my heart went out to the poor person who was feeling such pain.

Up ahead I could see the vague outline of a person wearing a black cloak with red markings, and pale blonde hair. Roman. As we got closer I heard him speaking, but it took me a moment to make out his words.

"Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that outcome," he taunted. As the four of us came up behind him I could see below the cliff he stood on. There were several people down there, most of whom I didn't recognize except for two. The officer known as Trudge, and...Jack.

I gasped quietly, but was careful not to give myself away. I managed to appear the same on the outside, but on the inside my heart was beating quicker and quicker. I was thankful for the robes I was wearing; they hid my shaking legs.

Roman continued his taunting of who I guessed was the boy on his knees. Probably Yusei. "Heh, no wonder the human race is going extinct. No one's selfish anymore."

_No one but you,_ I thought angrily, but wisely held my tongue. Not only would that give me away, it would prove that I wasn't really for Roman's plans, just my own plans to be with Jack in the future.

Which made me realize..._I'm_ selfish, too. But I've never really had anything for myself in my life. Was it so wrong to want this one thing just for me?

"Now be kind," Devack reprimanded mockingly, "they did just lose some friends to the shadows."

"Are they..." The reddish-haired girl trailed off.

Kalin finished her question for her. "Gone? Your pals are with us, and all the others lost from this trash heap you call a town. Wanna get 'em back? Well I'm right here, Yusei! Heh, or are you scared?"

He began laughing maniacally, and I had to summon all my willpower to keep from shivering. No matter how many times I heard his laugh, I could never get over how creepy it was.

My suspicions as to who Yusei was were confirmed when the kneeling boy replied, "Yeah, I'm scared. Scared about what I'm going to do to you, Kalin! As far as I'm concerned, your dark decks are about to be destroyed!"

It was eerily silent after Yusei's words as both our groups faced one another. The Signers glared coldly at the Dark Signers, who merely grinned in return. I remained neutral, avoiding looking at Jack despite the fact that he couldn't see the upper half of my face and that he wouldn't even care to meet my gaze anyway. He didn't know who I was.

Yusei broke the silence. "Alright, Dark Signers, this is it. It's time to pay for what you've done!"

"Well, before you try and cash out, I have something the little girl might be looking for," Devack stated, pulling out a Synchro monster of some sort.

The young green-haired girl gasped at the sight of the card. "That's Ancient Fairy Dragon!"

"I believe this card should be in your deck," Devack continued. "Now, if you want to get this card back you'll have to come battle me. And in case you're wondering who I am...My name is Devack." He pulled back the glove on his right hand to reveal the mark of his Earthbound Immortal, Cusillu. "And I bear the mark of the Monkey."

Roman handled the conversation from there. "Fate has finally brought us together. Signer and Dark Signer. " As he went on, the tension in the air grew. Somehow I got the feeling that each Dark Signer had a Signer to face off against. I reluctantly looked over to Jack, who, of course, wasn't looking at me. But it still felt as if he were staring at me all the same.

Noticing the others leaving, I slowly tore my gaze away from Jack and followed them. I would just have to wait until our match to talk to Jack.

I didn't get very far.

Footsteps came from behind me, accompanied with a voice. "Hey, you!"

I didn't know what possessed me to turn around, as it went against everything I had been working at, but I did. I instantly regretted it, seeing Jack chasing after me.

"Yeah, you!" he exclaimed, taking my turning around as an acknowledgement. "Why do you look so familiar?"

I started to back off, knowing that if he figured out who I was I would break. I had to keep my composure, and the only way to do that was if he remained unaware of my identity. At least for now.

Seeing him get closer, I broke into a run. But he was faster. He reached out with his arm and managed to grab my hood, pulling it off my head. Knowing I was caught, I stopped running. But I didn't face him. I _couldn't _face him. Not yet.

"I don't...I don't believe it!"

The shock in his voice tugged on my heart. All I wanted to do was tell him it was all a lie, that I wasn't really a Dark Signer. I wanted to tell him that everything was okay and we could go back to living the way we had, and that none of this had ever happened. It tore me in two that I couldn't tell him that.

"Carly? Is that you?"

I hesitated to reply to his question, wondering if maybe I could pretend it was just an illusion or something, but I quickly abandoned that thought. It would hurt too much to lie to him like that, not that he would believe it. Although I wished I could say that instead. I didn't want to hurt him like this, even if it was for our future together. I wished I could at least tell him that, but I knew it wasn't the time.

"...Yes," I finally replied, turning to see his reaction.

"What's going on here? You can't really be a Dark Signer!" Jack exclaimed, and it both surprised and scared me to see how strong the pure denial in his eyes was. _I wonder, would he still look like that if I told him my reasoning?_

Much as I wanted to speak to him, I couldn't keep up my façade for much longer before breaking. "If it's answers that you want, you'll have to come find me," I told him, pulling my hood over my face once more as I started to walk away. "Tomorrow. Till then, Jack."

I couldn't face him any longer, so I turned and ran. But I couldn't stop the few tears that leaked from my face.


	7. 6: Duel of Fate, Heart of Determination

**Finally got around to writing this! And it's not as hard as I thought, so the last two chapter should be up soon enough, provided I'm not busy or anything. This is part 1 of their duel. I based it mostly off of the Japanese version with a little bit of the English version in it (such as Jack's nickname 'Jacky' which I really don't like, but it kinda fits with my version of the story). I decided to do the Japanese version because I really hate how much they changed it in the English version (such as when they talk about Carly's death it's changed to how Jack thought she was the paparazzi. NOT cool). I know it's mainly changed so kids around 10 and under can watch it, but seriously, the Dark Signers have to die either way to become Dark Signers. What's the point in changing that?**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter! I tried hard to make it a bit better written than the rest of this story, but I don't know whether I succeeded or not. Oh, and Carly's opinion of a few things might change quite a bit since last chapter. I tried to make it a gradual change, but it just sort of changed suddenly. Please forgive me for that.**

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Chapter 6

_Duel of Fate, Heart of Determination_

I blearily opened my eyes. _Wh-where...Where am I?_

All around me was darkness. I couldn't see a thing. It was like everything had just...vanished.

Or maybe I had vanished.

Colour from the corner of my eye caught my attention. I swivelled around to see a circular image with...me?

Image me wore my orange Dark Signer outfit and had my duel disk on her left arm, but there was something different...I gasped as I realized what was so strange. Image me had eyes blacker than the eerie darkness surrounding me.

_I-I'm...a Dark Signer? But...how?_

_You don't remember?_

I jumped at the voice. "Wh-who are you?" I demanded, flinching at my shaky voice.

_You mean to say you've forgotten Me, too? My, my, Carly, the Transformation must have been harder on you than I thought..._

"Y-you still didn't answer my question," I stuttered, trying and failing to look fearsome.

_Ah, yes, that...Well, the person you see there is indeed you...The you that is in the real world..._

"R-real world?"

_Yes...Right now you are locked up deep within your subconscious...That way you can't interfere..._

I felt my rage flare. They considered me to be in the way of _myself_? "So you locked me up in here so that I can't stop that...that..._impostor_ from doing whatever she pleases?"

_Exactly...You see, despite your acceptance of being a Dark Signer We still don't fully trust you...so I decided to lock your real self away to make sure you don't interfere with Our plans to awaken the King because of your beloved...You will only be able to watch as We destroy the world and reshape it in Our image...But look on the bright side...Your beloved will be a pseudo-Dark Signer alongside Us..._

"But why didn't you just do this before? Why leave me to do things of my own free will when you could have just locked me away?" It didn't make sense. If the Earthbound Immortals had that kind of power, why allow their vessels to remain in control of their bodies?

_Because you must accept being a Dark Signer...for Us to seal your true self within your subconscious..._

My anger subsided, washed away by guilt and fear. _So...so it's me. It's my fault. The world is going to be destroyed, and it's all because I accepted being a Dark Signer..._

A tear leaked out of my eye and rolled down my cheek. More followed. I didn't stop them.

_It's all my fault...Jack, I'm sorry..._

* * *

My 'real' self was waiting at the Hummingbird tower for Jack to arrive. I could only watch helplessly as the blonde duelist arrived, unaware of the trap he was walking into...

I wanted to tell him to run and get away, so he wouldn't be in any danger. But he wouldn't be able to hear me, even if I did. I was locked inside my own mind, and I was pretty sure Jack wasn't a mind reader.

What surprised me most was the fierce determination in his eyes. Was he really that worried about me? _No,_ I told myself, shaking my head for added emphasis. The Signers had to seal the four towers by sunset today; of course he'd be determined. Losing the duel meant letting down the entire world.

But I was proven wrong by his words. "Carly, I know you're in there! I've come to help you! If only you'll let me! Carly!"

_He really cares...about me..._

I wanted to call out to him, tell him I needed him to help me, but the roaring of an engine beat me to it.

Image me, wearing a helmet to cover her face, rode out from behind the tower on her Duel Runner, racing straight toward Jack.

_Wait a minute...She wouldn't—She wouldn't kill him, would she?_

At the last second she yanked on the steering wheel, causing the red and orange Duel Runner to soar straight over Jack's round white one.

"No...It can't be!" Jack denied, his voice barely above a whisper.

"But it is."

I winced at 'my' tone. Why did image me have to sound so harsh and cold? I was nothing like that! Surely Jack could tell the difference between me and that impostor who happened to be using my body and was a Dark Signer so it was natural that she sounded more cruel than usual but..._Oh, who am I kidding? There's no way he'll know it's not the real me! Well, I suppose he has to know it's not _all_ me, but he probably won't think that the real me is locked up in my own subconscious._

Image me landed and did a roundabout, stopping in front of Jack. A cruel smirk was on her lips as she lifted her arms and removed the helmet, purposely taking it slow. _She knows I'm watching, so she's trying to annoy me._ My anger only increased as I knew it was working.

"I've been waiting for you...Jacky."

_Now she's using nicknames? She doesn't even _know_ Jack!_

"Carly...Is that really you?"

"It is, Jacky," image me replied. "I came back from death to see you."

"What? Death?" Jack exclaimed.

The smirk grew even wider. "I snuck into the Arcadia Movement...and Sayer killed me."

"What?"

As happy as I was to see the shock and fear in Jack's eyes, it couldn't overpower the sadness as I remembered falling out of the window, no hope left...

Then the horrifying instant as I died. There was no pain, just the feeling of touching the ground, and an ominous second of absolute nothingness. There wasn't anything that seemed scary about it, it was just...nothing. No sight, sound, smell, taste, or feeling. It was just absolute nothingness.

That single second would haunt me forever.

"Why?"

For an instant I was there, in the empty field, answering Jack's question. "I wanted to be just a bit closer to you."

Then as he continued I was back in the same darkness, watching the scene from the little window of colour in front of me.

"I thought you had been sacrificed to one of the Earthbound Immortals!" he exclaimed. I could see concern glittering in his violet eyes, and my entire body grew warm at the thought of him worrying about me. "That's why I thought that if I could defeat the Dark Signers, then..."

"You thought you could return me to the way I was?" image me taunted. I clenched my fists tightly, wishing I could hit her. But of course, I would be hitting myself, and even though I didn't really care, it was still impossible. I settled for hitting the image in front of me. It blurred a bit and shifted around like water before returning to its previous state.

Image me continued taunting Jack. "Don't tell me you're afraid to fight me."

"Don't toy with me!" he shouted. "If you mean to draw a bow against me, then I'll smash it's arrows by force!"

"Yes, you are a Signer and I am a Dark Signer. The two of us are bound by a twisted fate."

The impostor lifted her right arm and the Hummingbird mark began to glow, causing the full-sized geoglyph to form on the ground, drawn by the Dark Signers' signature purple flames.

"The stage is set, Jacky," image me continued, placing her helmet on her head again. "Now we begin the duel that will decide destiny!"

My impostor took off, Jack following close behind. I could see her smirk still in place. "Fate can be so ironic sometimes, Jacky. I became a Dark Signer to chase after you...

...And now, you're chasing after me."

"What's your point?" Jack seemed to be getting fed up of all 'my' talk. I couldn't blame him. That impostor of me was really getting on my nerves. Which, I suppose, shouldn't be a surprise to me, since it was all being done for precisely that reason.

"The point, Jacky, is that you can't escape fate!"

They both activated Speed World, and the duel began.

"First person to go around the corner gets to go first!" the impostor challenged. Figures she would make a test like that. She was already a ways ahead of Jack.

He increased his speed and quickly closed the distance. But image me turned sharply to the side just as he caught up to her and rammed into his Duel Runner.

"Jack!" I couldn't help but cry out. He didn't hear me.

His Duel Runner wobbled and lost speed quickly, and within seconds the distance that had been between them before was now twice as large. My impostor quickly rounded the corner, followed by Jack after several seconds.

"Looks like I get the first move," she said in a slightly haughty voice. _Yeah, you beat him by cheating. _That's_ something to be proud of._

I watched her summon Fortune Lady Light and then pick up a card. Suddenly I was sitting on the duel runner, staring at the card. I felt stiff with shock. It was the same card that had shown me my 'future'. But it was all lies! They never intended for that to happen, at least not with the real me there. It was impossible. I knew now how one became a Dark Signer; their soul was locked away, replaced by that of their Earthbound Immortal. So a person could never truly be a Dark Signer. They were simply switched out with the God they were playing host to.

I wanted to tear the card into millions of pieces and then burn them for showing me such a lie, but before I could do anything I was shoved out of my body and back into my subconscious, staring at the same little window as before. I was really starting to hate that window, and I never really hated anything.

Fake me set the card facedown and ended her turn. Jack drew a card and stared at it for a moment.

"I end my turn."

_What?_ Why would he end his turn?

"You didn't summon a monster or place a facedown, Jacky," the fake observed, smirking. "Are you finally ready to accept your fate? I understand. I will use all my strength to take your life!"

"No!" I exclaimed, shaking my head furiously. I didn't want Jack to become a Dark Signer anymore. Not when our future was merely a lie. I wanted him to live his life happily, even if...

Even if it meant I had no part in it.

My impostor took her turn. She drew a card, and then sacrificed Fortune Lady Light and summoned both Fortune Lady Earth and Fortune Lady Dark thanks to Light's ability. Their attack points were 2400 and 200, respectively. I gasped. Jack would never survive both attacks.

"Jack!" I cried out in fear. But he still didn't hear me.

"This is going to hurt. Brace yourself."

Fortune Lady Earth attacked first, slamming her staff into the ground and causing spikes to rise from the ground. Jack's life points quickly dropped to 1600 as his Duel Runner spun out of control.

My impostor then commanded Fortune Lady Dark to attack. I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to watch.

I waited one moment...

Two...

Three...

When nothing seemed to be happening, I hesitantly opened one eye, then both in shock. Jack had a monster on the field, and Fortune Lady Dark had been destroyed. Fake me's life points were now at 3600.

But she still wore a cruel smirk.

"So, you're putting up a fight, eh? Guess you're not ready to give up just yet. But it doesn't matter, because there's no escaping fate!" The impostor set a card and ended her turn. "Now, attack me! If you can, that is!"

Jack drew a card and placed Power Supplier in defense mode. Its special ability gave his other monster, Crying Ogre, 400ATK points. But it didn't last. Fake me activated a trap card, Bending Destiny, which returned Power Supplier to Jack's hand.

"No matter what you do, it's useless, Jacky," the impostor stated. "Fate has already been decided!"

I could see Jack's frustration. He set a card and ended his turn.

"Finished already?" she taunted. "That was too easy! But that's fine!"

She drew a card. "This turn, you will depart from this world completely!"

"Try if you can!"

Fake me chuckled. "Oh, you and your bluffs...I'm going all out!"

Fortune Lady Earth's level increased, and her attack went from 2400 to 2800. Now she was strong enough to beat Crying Ogre. Even worse, it's ability activated and caused 400 points of damage to Jack because a Fortune Lady levelled up. His life points dropped to 1200.

Earth attacked, destroying Crying Ogre and leaving Jack with only 800 life points left. His Duel Runner spun and wobbled, this time stopping completely. The impostor drove back so she was stopped directly in front of him.

Jack was shaking badly, but he didn't seem ready to accept defeat. "I won't give in!"

"Soon, Jacky. Our true fates will begin very soon."

_No! Jack! Please, don't use that card..._

It was a futile wish. I could see in the impostor's eyes that she had already made up her mind. She was simply toying with Jack to annoy both him and me before she finished him off.

"There is no fate!" Jack stated. "I'm going to open your eyes by my own hand!"

"Your eyes are the ones that will be opened," fake me countered. "The purpose of this battle is to unify us. When this match is settled, we're promised eternal fate. The cards have told me so!"

"No, it's a lie! It's a lie!" Tears streamed down my face as I kept shouting, but neither the impostor nor Jack could hear me.

"I've been fortune-telling by my deck," she continued. "By our fates..."

"What?" Jack exclaimed.

"And this was the card I pulled!" She activated the trap card, the one that had shown me the future of lies.

I was forced to watch as Jack was shown what I had been, back when I believed it was true and I was desperate enough to risk everything to be with him. Why had I been so stupid? I had put my own desires before everyone else. And now the world was doomed because of me...

The scene played out in front of me like I remembered. Jack woke up and realized he was a Dark Signer. Then 'I' explain everything to him. How he lost the duel, how he was on the ground, dead. How I revived him, though I shut my eyes at that point. I couldn't bear to watch the impostor give him the 'kiss of life'.

And I watched as Jack slowly began to believe it all...

Back in the present, fake me watched with satisfaction as Jack was trapped completely within the illusion. She used the wretched card, Enlightenment, to have Fortune Lady Earth attack again. "Let's go Jack! To our future!"

"Our...future..." Jack repeated blankly, leaning forward. Something slipped out of his jacket. It looked like...my glasses? Why did Jack have my glasses?

Within the illusion Jack and the impostor were being carried on a throne by zombies. The impostor continued her explanation, and Jack believed it.

Then he noticed something glistening on the ground.

My glasses!

At once Jack seemed to snap out of the illusion's grasp. "No! This is not the world you truly desire!"

The impostor seemed as surprised as I was.

In the present, Jack activated the trap card Changing Destiny. It stopped Fortune Lady Earth's attack just as it was about to wipe out the rest of Jack's life points.

"Jack! Why are you trying to avoid fate?" the impostor cried out.

_Because that's not his fate!_ I declared triumphantly. _Way to go, Jack!_

Jack picked up my glasses, and I watched with curiosity. _What is he going to do with those?_

"That sham isn't the future we're intended for! You, in particular, showed me that!"

He showed them to the impostor and she seemed to freeze with shock. I could feel the Immortal's hold on my body weakening.

I looked into Jack's eyes and saw pure determination, and something else...

_H-he really wants me back...Jack wants to save me!_

I could have burst with happiness. But I didn't. There was something else, much more important than my safety, that had to be done.

_I'm sorry Jack. I know you want to save me, but, more importantly..._

_I need to save you. So you can save the world._


	8. Chapter 7: True Destiny

**Okay, I'm really really sorry for the long wait, but I'm hoping that you'll be glad I did! Alright, first off, I said on my profile that I completed the epilogue before this chapter. Didn't read it? That's okay. Now you know! It's not really important, I was just hoping that some people reading this story might have read that note and discovered that I actually haven't ditched this story. And technically it's completed right now! _Technically_. But after writing this chapter, it feels to me like the epilogue is a letdown. So while you guys read this, I will rewrite the epilogue and hopefully post it tonight. But if it seems like the epilogue isn't turning out too well, then I'll just post the one I have right now. I suppose I can never really make the epilogue better than this chapter, what with all the super cute scenes in episode 59 (the episode this is based on, chapter 6 was episode 58).**

**I'll just get all this info out of the way now. I absolutely LOVE the hugging scene in episode 59, it's the CUTEST pairing scene I have ever watched in my life (that I can remember, anyway), and I really hope I did it justice. This chapter, to me, feels very differently written compared to the rest of this story. If you feel that too, please tell me so that I know. You see, this exact same thing happened with my first-ever fanfic, which was 15 chapters long. But on the fifteenth chapter I had this really cute pairing/dying scene in it, and once I had written that (or maybe I was in the middle of it...I can't remember) it felt like that chapter was completely different from the rest of the story. At first I wondered if I should rewrite the rest of the story, but rewriting 14 chapters is way too huge a job for me, so in the end I deleted the whole thing. Now I kinda regret it, but oh well. At least I learned my lesson. And in case you couldn't figure that out, that means there's no way I'm deleting this story. I would only ever delete a fanfiction if I really hated it, and if the people reading it hated it. Which probably won't happen because I don't write things I hate.**

**Hopefully I did this chapter and the anime scenes in it well, and I really really hope you enjoy these 3700-or-so words! And surprisingly enough, I'm actually really sad that this story must come to an end...But maybe, and this is a really large maybe I hate to say, I will rewrite all other chapters of this story to make them better. Please don't count on it, but I won't entirely ignore the idea. The rest of it, or at least all but the last chapter, was rather poorly written, and it would be pretty cool to have an awesomely written story.**

**Anyways, enough rambling, and have fun reading!**

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Chapter 7

_True Destiny_

_Many kids stood at a playground, playing on the equipment or just hanging out with friends. A few were at the small duel areas, battling it out to see who was the best._

"_Direct attack!"_

_One boy's life points dropped to zero, and as the other boy celebrated a young girl with black hair and strange glasses took pictures with her camera. She smiled as she got many good pictures of the duel and of the two boys._

"_Carly, do you plan on being a reporter one day?" asked a child sitting next to the girl known as Carly._

_The young black-haired girl seemed taken off guard by the question. "Huh? Oh, I don't know...I just like watching people try their hardest."_

"_But watching other people do their best can't possibly make you happy, can it?"_

"_I don't think so," Carly replied, stretching her arms and laying on her back. "Watching them makes me feel like I can do better, too. That's what makes me happy."_

The duel right now was a standstill. Jack had 800 life points, while my impostor had 3600 life points. Both of them had stopped on the track after Jack had taken out my glasses and shown them to my impostor. Somehow the image of my glasses had weakened Aslla piscu's grasp on me, and I could feel myself beginning to regain control of my body. _Just a little more and I'll be able to take over..._

"Look at these, Carly!" Jack was saying. "You must remember! The Carly I know would never gain happiness through the pain of others!"

_I almost did once..._I shook my head quickly. There was no time to think about that now! I had to try and gain control of my body again.

Only problem was I didn't know how. _Think, Carly, think! What would bring me back to my body again?_

Well, my physical body had to do with the five senses...Maybe I could start with those. _Think! What would I be feeling right now?_

_The slight breeze colder than snow, the smell of gas and fresh air mingling into one, the purring of the flames and the near-silent grumbling of engines, the taste of dry air, and the sight of the dark sky, rocky terrain, purple fire, and Jack..._

Energy began to flow within me. _It's working! I can feel myself slipping back into my body!_

It was confusing, constantly flipping back and forth between my body and the dark emptiness of my subconscious, and I was certain it only lasted a second. Then Aslla piscu quickly took over again.

"No! That's not true!" my impostor exclaimed, turning around and driving along the path with Jack right behind her. I remained stuck in the blackness of my mind, watching everything play out through that little window that I really hated. But I was also somewhat grateful to the window. At least I was able to see what was going on, and see Jack again, even if I wasn't really there and he thought the impostor was me.

My impostor's voice brought me back to the occurrences within the window. "I came back as a Dark Signer so the two of us could spend eternity together!" she was saying. _Lying,_ I corrected. "That's what I want, and that's the destiny assigned to us!"

"You're wrong!" Jack exclaimed. "I was once lost within what I thought was fate, but you saved me from that!"

_I remember...I remember that time..._

_We were standing on the balcony of a tall building, the sunset colouring both sea and sky the most brilliant shades of orange. I told him that who he used to be was gone, replaced by a better him, who would one day become a real king._

"I've never forgotten what you told me that day!"

My heart was pounding in my chest, and I felt blood rush to my cheeks. _He didn't forget that day...with me..._

"I make my own decisions now," he continued. "I don't let fate or destiny tell me what to do! Changing Destiny has another effect in addition to negating your attack."

_What? Another effect?_

"You can gain life points equal to half the attack power of the monster whose attack was negated...or inflict the same amount on the opponent. The choice is yours."

"What?" I yelped before I could stop myself. "You mean that impostor can still beat Jack?"

_It's over, Carly..._

My hands balled into fists as my anger rushed to the surface, banishing all traces of reason from my mind. "No! You're wrong! There's no way Jack would lose! _NO_ WAY! YOU HEAR?"

"Why would you halt my attack, and then give me the choice to destroy you?" my impostor demanded, momentarily subsiding my rage and allowing me to focus on the little screen.

"To show you there's no such thing as predetermined fate! I believe in you! Choose your _own_ destiny!"

"_You're such a fool, Jack." _The voice of the impostor was in my head, so I could hear it echo around me. My anger flared again. Jack was _NOT_ a fool!

"_I will make him mine."_

_No...No...! NO!_

"I inflict damage on—"

"_NO! STOP!"_ I screamed with my entire being. _"YOU CAN'T KILL JACK! I WON'T LET YOU!"_

I could feel the Immortal's grasp on my body, and I struggled once more to regain control. Aslla piscu persisted in trying to finish off Jack, but I wasn't about to let that happen.

"I..."

"_You can't kill him!"_

"I..."

"_I won't allow it!"_

"I..."

"_Because...Because I love him!"_

That seemed to give me the edge I needed, and I felt my senses quickly return to me as I found myself seated on the duel runner, racing past purple flames at a rapid speed.

_I'm...I'm back...I'm in my own body again..I did it!_

There was just one last thing I had to take care of.

"I choose the option that restores my life points."

I heard Jack's quiet gasp from behind me, even over the roar of our engines, then I felt energy flow through my body as the card's ability activated and my life points increased to 5000.

"Carly..." Jack murmured, and he pushed his Duel Runner forward so we were next to each other. "Carly? Are you...?"

"Jack!" I exclaimed, feeling overwhelmed with joy at seeing Jack again with my own eyes.

"You're back to normal?"

I lowered my eyes and turned my head back to the road in front of me, no longer able to look him in the eye. How could he ever forgive me for what I did to so many innocent people...what I did to him? I trapped hundreds of people within Aslla piscu, I had probably killed many others indirectly from the damage Aslla piscu's attack caused, and I made him worry so much...just for me. I don't deserve his concern; I've done nothing to earn it. I only hurt him. Tears tried to force their way out, but I held them back. I didn't even deserve to cry.

However, Jack did deserve an apology. It wouldn't nearly atone for all the things I'd done, but it was the least I could do to try and make up for it.

"Forgive me. I really _don't_ want to fight!"

"Yes," Jack agreed, "you're not the kind of person to ever harm another."

_Maybe not before, _I thought, _but now..._

_Now I've hurt more than I can count. Including you. But you're either too ignorant or too blind to realize it._

"I know that better than anyone."

My eyes widened in surprise, and I allowed myself to look over at him. Understanding glittered in his eyes. _Then maybe...Does he know about everything I've done, and still thinks I'm a good person despite that?_

The warm rush of relief spread through my entire body, and more tears began to poke out of the corners of my eyes, though they were tears of joy instead of sadness. "Jack..."

I wasn't sure what else I was going to say, if anything at all, but I would never know for I was interrupted by a burning pain in my right arm, where my mark was. I put my other hand over top of it in an attempt to stop the pain, but it only strengthened. Despite not wanting to alert Jack and worry him, I let out a groan of protest and squeezed my eyes shut as the pain intensified and spread through my body faster than the relief had.

I couldn't see it, but I felt the dark aura of Aslla piscu escaping from my mark. I heard Jack cry out in shock and fear, "Carly, what's wrong?"

_Your desires don't matter...This battle was appointed to you, as a Dark Signer, by fate!_

I felt the dark aura enveloping me, causing more burning pain, and my control over my body began slipping. _Is this what it was like the first time? No, this is different...Last time the Immortal merely locked me up in my subconscious. This time Aslla piscu is trying to purge me from my body entirely!_

I let out a shriek as I felt my soul starting to tear apart from my body. I had never experienced anything more painful. It wasn't just my body that felt like it was on fire; it was my spirit that burned intensely, in a way unlike the sense of touch. It was like an entirely separate sense altogether.

_Carly, continue the duel and destroy the Signer!_

I could feel Aslla piscu forcing itself into my body through my mouth, and my soul was pushed farther out of my body. I could no longer scream, for the Hummingbird had taken over my body, but I could sense the entirety of my spirit screaming in agony and protest.

Aslla piscu was trying harder to separate my soul and my body, but I clung to it tightly. _I'm not letting go! Jack, please, hurry and finish this duel!_

I was once again watching the duel, but from firsthand. The only difference was I had to use all my strength not to be torn from my body. Having two souls in one body made things rather cramped, but I'd much prefer that to becoming a bodiless spirit.

After 'my' next turn, Jack managed to summon his Red Dragon Archfiend and attacked with it. Aslla piscu's life points dropped to 3600 and it momentarily lost control of the Duel Runner, causing it to lean dangerously to the edge of the purple flames.

"Carly, open your eyes, please!" Jack begged. I tried using every bit of strength I had, and the God's control over me seemed to waver a bit. But once I realized we were plunging into the flames, I was momentarily startled and Aslla piscu used the opportunity to take over again. When we returned, I had to look away at the shock and pain on Jack's face when he realized I was still not in control.

_I'm sorry, Jack...I promise, I'll try harder!_

_Hah..._The Earthbound Immortal's laugh reverberated through my mind, which we currently shared. _You and your hope...it's sickening._

My anger blazed, but I could do nothing at the moment.

Aslla piscu took its turn, then Jack, and then it was the God's turn again. When the God drew itself, I gasped in shock. _Oh no...Jack!_

"I release Fortune Lady Wind and Fortune Lady Water!"

Jack's eyes widened in shock. "Is it coming?"

Aslla piscu began the chant to summon itself, and I felt a small amount of the God leave my body to enter the stone heart pulsating in the air. I settled a little more comfortably into my body, but I still had to look away from the object that heralded the Immortal's summoning. That object was what contained the many souls I had stolen. I couldn't bear to face the angry and despondent spirits I had trapped there. The guilt was overwhelming.

Once I heard the echoing cry of Aslla piscu, I dared to look up at the beast. It hovered in all its glory, and its orange lines seemed to glow brighter than normal. It leaned down to attack Jack directly, and I felt my heart stop for a single moment, despite the fact that I had no control over it. Luckily Jack had summoned Battle Fader, and its effect ended the battle phase before Aslla piscu could attack directly. Mentally I let out a breath of relief.

Aslla piscu ended its turn, and Jack tried to reach me with words, not knowing I could already hear him but couldn't respond. "Carly! Listen to me! I used to be someone who never thought about others. I was willing to betray and hurt my friends, and I would sacrifice anything for my own goals! But I learned something from you!"

_Learned something? I...I don't remember ever teaching him something..._

"That even a bruised and troubled heart can be saved by a truly considerate heart! Right now, I'm wishing with all my heart! I want to save the person I truly love—_you!_"

_M-me? He—He loves _me_? _I had always seen that Mina girl following Jack around, and though he had never shown her any interest it was obvious to me that she was infatuated with him. I had never once assumed—okay, I _denied_—that Jack had loved her, I had just never thought Jack was the kind of person to fall in love with anyone. Actually, to me, it had seemed more like he had had a girl in his past, and had purged her from his thoughts in order to stop the pain.

But to find out that Jack loved me...just as I loved him...

It was my one true desire.

And it was real.

Once my overwhelming happiness died down somewhat, I realized Aslla piscu's hold on me was weakened significantly, and I could feel Jack closer than ever. Somehow I knew that if I tried to reach out to Jack, I would be able to talk to him. _I need to let him know that he needs to put the safety of the world before my safety._

"_Jack..." _I called out. _"Jack...Jack..."_

In an instant, I was transported to a place not unlike where I was being trapped within my subconscious, the only difference was everything was white instead of black. And Jack was there.

"Jack..."

"Carly!" he exclaimed, turning around to look for me.

"Jack, please, end this."

"What did you say?" His voice was filled with anger, but I knew it was just to hide his concern for me. _Figures. He confesses his love for me, and then he's afraid to show he's worried about me._

"I don't want anyone else to be hurt because of me." I had already hurt so many people, directly or indirectly, and that alone would cause me to feel remorse for the rest of my life—or afterlife, if Jack complied with my wishes.

"Don't be ridiculous!" he shouted. "There has to be another way!"

"If you truly care for me..."

"But if I do that, then you'll be..." He trailed off, unable to continue.

"This is the fate I chose myself. You were truly considerate of me. So, please, use your hands to finish this."

He struggled, wanting to argue, but if I knew Jack then he would listen to me. He did. "I understand...If that is what you truly wish, then that is what I'll do."

We returned to the balcony at sunset, and I appeared before him. I smiled, never having felt happier. "Thank you, Jack!"

We stared at each other for a long moment, and I hoped that I could convey to him everything that I couldn't say. How grateful I was, how much I treasured our moments together, and...how much I loved him.

I'd probably never know if he knew, for I was about to die. It shook me to the core, but I was happy at the same time. I would finally be free of this curse. And maybe my death would help make amends for everything I'd done.

Once again I was on my Duel Runner, struggling with Aslla piscu for control of my body. It was much easier now that the Earthbound Immortal was on the field and needed to transfer part of its spirit to its physical form.

"Carly...This life of mine...was saved by you once before. Appear now, Majestic Dragon!"

Jack summoned a small pink dragon, then tuned it with his Red Dragon Archfiend and Battle Fader. The monster he summoned was one I'd never seen before. It was known as Majestic Red Dragon and looked a bit like Red Dragon Archfiend, but had four wings and no arms. Its attack power was 4000.

"Majestic Red Dragon negates the effect of one monster on my opponent's side of the field, and gains its attack power until the end phase! It will negate Aslla piscu's effect and absorb its attack power!"

_6500 attack points?_

"I will finish you with one blow, just as you wish!"

_Thank you, Jack._

And then, just when I thought all the weirdness was about to end, I could hear Jack's thoughts!

_But, don't worry. I won't let you die alone. My facedown card is Shockwave. A card that destroys a monster on the field and inflicts damage equal to its attack power on both sides. If I destroy Majestic Red Dragon with this...Both Carly and I will receive 6500 damage...depleting our life points._

_No...he can't!_

"This is the fate Jack Atlas chose himself! Should I perish together with you, I would have no regrets!"

As overjoyed as I felt that Jack would be willing to die with me, I couldn't let him do it. "I'll read your fortune one more time! Read what your true fate is!"

I had returned to the sunset balcony again, and I drew a card from the deck I held.

"Here goes! Trap activate—"

I grabbed hold of my body just in time. "Trap activate! Earthbound Release!"

"Wh-What?"

"This card releases an Earthbound Immortal to destroy all monsters on the field! Then it deals damage to the opponent equal to the combined attack powers of all the monsters destroyed!"

_I'm sorry, Jack..._

"Impossible!" Jack exclaimed.

_But I won't be there with you when you save the world..._

"Majestic Red Dragon's negates any opposing effects that attempt to destroy it..."

_At least, not physically..._

"...and inflicts damage to the opponent equal to its own attack power."

_Because I'll be dead._

"Don't tell me that you, voluntarily..."

_Yes, it's true. I'm sorry, but this is how it ends..._I watched through my own eyes as the trap whipped up a tornado aimed at Aslla piscu and Majestic Red Dragon in an attempt to inflict their attack points on Jack, but his dragon stopped the trap and sent the attack back at me.

_This is it..._

I returned to the sunset balcony one last time. "What I truly desire is that you become a real king, who is loved by all and gives happiness to everyone. I know that you can do it. Jack Atlas!"

I flipped the card I held in my hand, which had an image of Jack surrounded by a bunch of cheering kids and holding one up on his shoulder. He looked so happy...and I hoped that when that day came, he would be as happy as he looked on the card.

The deck in my hand began fluttering out of my grasp, revealing that they were all the same card.

It was Jack's destiny.

"Carly!" Jack screamed, just as the attack was about to hit me. I closed my eyes and I let out an involuntary scream as the attack collided with my body and the remnants of Aslla piscu's soul was purged from me. My life points dropped to zero and the impact of the attack flung me from my Duel Runner. I hit the ground with a hard thud and didn't have the energy to pull myself up.

"Carly! Carly!" I could hear Jack calling my name, and I felt strong arms hold me into a half sitting position. It was so comfortable...

"Carly! Just hold on! Don't die on me!"

"Jack..." I opened my eyes, but saw nothing. "Where are you?"

"Here!" he replied. "I'm right here!"

"How strange..." I mused. "I can't see anything..."

"You have to hang on! Look at me!"

I heard a slight shuffling noise, and then felt something placed over my eyes. My glasses...The world suddenly cleared. _That's better..._

"I loved cheering on people who tried their hardest like you, Jack. Despite that...because I tried to wish for such selfish happiness, I must've been wrong for doing so, huh?" At that point I looked down, unable to face Jack any longer.

"That's nonsense! Everyone has the right to wish for happiness! If you're saying that's a crime, then I'm just as guilty!"

I turned my head to face him again, amused by his argument despite the situation. "Jack...I know you'll save the world, right? I'll be cheering you on, after all!"

With the last of my strength I reached up to hug Jack, and he returned the gesture, gripping me tightly as if his strong grasp could stop Death from seeking me. I held him just as tightly, knowing that it would be the first and only time I could ever hug him like that. I could feel myself slowly turning to dust in his arms, but my duty wasn't finished just yet. There was one last thing I needed to tell him, then my life would be as complete as I could have ever hoped for. Maybe not at all what I had expected, and certainly more pain that I would have ever believed, but in the end it was all worth it.

"I love you, Jack."

My body faded to dust and my spirit began to disappear, but I could still see Jack kneeling on the ground, a saddened and disbelieving look on his face. I wished I could wipe it away, replace it with the smile I loved so much, but I was nothing more than a spirit now. A spirit that was just about to leave Earth forever.

I caught one last glimpse of him, standing sorrowful but determined, and then there was no more.


	9. Epilogue: Never Forget

**Alright, here's the final chapter. It makes me so sad! After rewriting this, I had a hard time deleting the other one, but I decided that while that one wasn't bad, this one was better. Well, this is the end, unless like I said in the other chapter I rewrite the rest of this story, which is pretty doubtful but there's still a chance. Can't believe how much I actually like this story now! (mostly for this chapter and the chapter before, but still)**

**Well, I hope you've enjoyed the story so far, and this chapter as well. Thanks so much to those who have read this story, I really appreciate it! ...That didn't sound like it made sense...But who cares! I'm so proud of myself! First-ever non-forced story that has more than one chapter and is complete! Thanks again to all the readers!**

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Epilogue

_Never Forget_

There was nothing. Absolute nothingness. Just like the instant when I died the first time. But this was different. This was infinite nothingness. It was like a world in which nothing but my own consciousness existed. I might have found it intriguing if it wasn't so frightening.

_Is this how the rest of my afterlife will be?_ The thought terrified me. Being alone in a world of nothing, with only my own consciousness, was more than I could bear. I wanted to see Jack again, though I didn't want him to have to die and then be trapped within this void like I was.

"_Carly!"_

It was his voice. Jack's voice. Calling out to me.

"_Carly...!"_

Why was I hearing Jack's voice? Was he there with me?

"_CARLY!"_

No, he couldn't be in that nothingness like I was. Perhaps it was just my imagination, or the torment of this empty world. Would I be tortured for the rest of eternity by hearing Jack's voice calling my name, sounding so close and yet never there?

"_Carly! Carly!"_

I felt myself violently shaken, and then colour swarmed my vision. It was all a blur, but I could make out a vast patch of blue, tall gray rectangles, and a figure in white...

_An angel...? Am...Am I in heaven?_

"Carly!" That was Jack's voice...He hadn't died too, had he?

Another violent shake and the visions cleared. I was surrounded by tall gray buildings beneath a sunny, clear blue sky, and held by none other than Jack.

"J-Jack," I croaked, my voice sounding hoarse and weak. Jack seemed to have heard me like I had yelled at him.

"Carly! You're alright!" His voice was overflowing with relief.

My eyes shifted from building to building as I tried to recognize one of them. "Where...?" My voice was so weak I couldn't finish my question, but Jack knew what I was trying to ask and answered without hesitation.

"We're in New Domino City, near the Arcadia Movement."

_Arcadia...? But that...that was where I died!_ I looked around at each building in turn, carefully scrutinizing each one, then came across a building with a shattered window. _The window I fell from..._

"Why...here...?" Again, I couldn't finish my question, but Jack still knew what I was trying to say.

"I don't know," he replied. "I found you here a few minutes ago, unconscious and barely breathing."

_So I was brought back to where I died...I guess this means I'm still alive._ But I didn't feel the happiness or relief I had expected. Instead, I was plagued by guilt.

_All those people I hurt..._

"Do you remember anything?"

I hadn't forgotten. Not a single thing. I remembered every last detail of my time as a Dark Signer. It filled me to the brim with sadness, regret, and overwhelming guilt at everything I had done.

But looking into his eyes, eyes that were begging me to forget, I couldn't tell him.

"...No."

He sighed in relief, and his grip on me subconsciously relaxed. "Oh, thank goodness."

His relief didn't bring me any happiness. Instead, it added to my load of guilt. I had lied to Jack. But it would have caused him worry if he knew I hadn't forgotten. I had already hurt Jack enough. I didn't want to hurt him more.

Although he would be hurt if he ever found out I had lied, I was willing to take the risk. I would do everything I could to make sure he never knew. He had already worried enough for my sake. I couldn't let him worry about the guilt I would carry for the rest of my life.

I would handle that burden alone.

Jack helped me into a standing position; I leaned against him heavily as I hadn't regained my strength. We began to walk away, but I couldn't resist one last glance back at the Arcadia Movement, and the window I had fallen from. The place where everything had began. I could never forget, but even if I had the choice, I wouldn't really want to.

Because within the bad memories, there were good ones, too.

"_I want to save the person I truly love—_you!_"_

"_I love you, Jack."_


End file.
